Position Of The American Dietetic Association

from the association
ABSTRACT It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that the total diet or overall pattern of food eaten is the most important focus of a healthful eating style. All foods can fit within this pattern, if consumed in moderation with appropriate portion size and combined with regular physical activity. The American Dietetic Association strives to communicatehealthful eating messages to the public that emphasize a balance of foods, rather than any one food or meal. Public policies that support the total diet approach include the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, MyPyramid, the DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), Dietary Reference Intakes, and nutrition labeling. The value of a food should be determined within the context of the total dietbecause classifying foods as “good” or “bad” may foster unhealthful eating behaviors. Alternative approaches may be necessary in some health conditions. Eating practices are dynamic and influenced by many factors, including taste and food preferences, weight concerns, physiology, lifestyle, time challenges, economics, environment, attitudes and beliefs, social/cultural influences, media, foodtechnology, and food product safety. To increase the effectiveness of nutrition education in promoting sensible food choices, food and nutrition professionals should utilize appropriate behavioral theory and evidence-based strategies. A focus on moderation and proportionality in the context of a healthful lifestyle, rather than specific nutrients or foods, can help reduce consumer confusion.Proactive, empowering, and practical 0002-8223/07/10707-0021$32.00/0 doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2007.05.025 messages that emphasize the total diet approach promote positive lifestyle changes. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107: 1224-1232. POSITION STATEMENT It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that the total diet or overall pattern of food eaten is the most important focus of a healthful eating style.All foods can fit within this pattern, if consumed in moderation with appropriate portion size and combined with regular physical activity. The American Dietetic Association strives to communicate healthful eating messages to the public that emphasize a balance of foods, rather than any one food or meal.

ADA REPORTS

Position of the American Dietetic Association: Total Diet Approach toCommunicating Food and Nutrition Information
half of food shoppers strongly agree that eating healthfully is a better way to manage illness than medication. Unfortunately, this trend toward increasing awareness has been accompanied by widespread confusion with complaints that nutrition education is focused on what NOT to eat, instead of what TO eat (1). These conflicting messages make it difficult toknow what to do. Eating is an important source of pleasure. As food and nutrition professionals strive to improve the quality of Americans’ dietary and lifestyle choices, challenges are exacerbated by the widespread perception that individuals must choose between good taste and nutritional quality. In fact, no single food or type of food ensures good health, just as no single food or type of foodis necessarily detrimental to health. Rather, the consistent excess of food, or absence of a type of food over time, may diminish the likelihood of a healthful diet. For example, habitual, excessive consumption of energy-dense foods may promote weight gain and mask possible underconsumption of essential nutrients. Yet small quantities of energy-dense foods on special occasions have no discernibleinfluence on health. In most situations, nutrition messages are more effective when focused on positive ways to make healthful food choices over time, rather than individual foods to be avoided (4,5). Unfortunately, the current mix of reliable and unreliable information on diet and nutrition from a variety of sources is confusing to the public and elicits negative feelings such as guilt, worry,...